Ambit Energy Company Information

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Profile:

Ambit Energy's breakthrough happened before any customers signed up, according to Jere Thompson Jr., co-founder and CEO of the residential and small commercial power firm.

"By bringing in talented senior management early, people who had scaled fast-growing companies before," Thompson says, "we were able to define for the IT department exactly what we needed to grow and manage the company."

The Dallas-based firm spent almost a year creating a proprietary software system and database able to support a rapidly growing company.

Ambit became profitable during its second full year of operation, and today has 230 employees and more than 50,000 independent consultants providing multi-level marketing in the deregulated energy markets of Texas, Illinois, and New York. Thompson believes that an outstanding web site and robust IT system provide enormous leverage. "Ninety-nine percent of the data that comes through is never touched," he says.

Customers enroll online, and Ambit's system is so automated that it adjusts the required deposit, based on a quick credit check. Thompson says that filtering out high-risk customers pays off; Ambit's customer base has been relatively reliable during the economic downturn.

After logging $197 million in revenue in 2008, the company is on track to generate $400 million this year.